Training for public officers involved in urban regeneration

Integrated urban regeneration

Multilevel coordination

FosterREG aims at enhancing public capacity at local, regional and national levels to plan, finance and manage integrated urban regeneration for sustainable energy uptake, through capacity building, promotion and articulation of effective multilevel coordination, and national as well as European network strengthening. These objectives will be achieved through public stakeholders’ engagement in joint analysis and knowledge development activities, as well as creation and dissemination of targeted training materials and activities across Europe.Read more...

Barriers in integration of energy efficiency in urban regeneration - workshops in Spain

FosterREG project is at a phase in which the focus is put on interaction with stakeholders within and between the three National Clusters (in Spain, Croatia and The Netherlands). The main aim of this phase is to develop in collaboration with identified stakeholders joint strategies for the planning, financing and implementation of energy efficiency policies in urban regeneration through a collaborative process in three national clusters. To achieve this, series of workshops will be held in parallel in each of the National Clusters.

First stage of the workshops in Spain is taking place in 5 different locations.

25 participants from public and private sector and both, the energy and urban sector, participated in the 1st workshop which took place in Vitoria-Gasteiz (hosted by Visesa) on 29th January 2016.

The workshop was divided in two parts creating 3 different analysis groups of 8-9 people, each.

The second analysis deal with horizontal coordination between the different public administrations’ energy and urban planning departments and coordination of all administration levels (multilevel coordination).The first part analysis addressed three different thematic areas: legislation, management and financing, identifying barriers to incorporate energy efficiency measures in urban regeneration.

Each group shared the identified barriers in relation to these themes and new contributions from the rest of the groups had been added. Finally each participant of the workshop prioritized the identified barriers by giving it a score.

Public Procurers have identified the following barriers:

1. Include owners and search for tailor-made processes (municipalities): 9 points (Group 2 integration of EE-UR, point 5). Communities of owners are not involved from the beginning of the process and on the other hand the processes of regeneration must be adapted to the specific context of each area.

2. Lack of common objectives or political consensus in the long run. There is a lack of continuity of contents at the political level (need of an interdepartmental technical network): 9 points (Group 2 coordinating multi-level, point 1). Lack of consensus on the objectives. There should be a coordinated structure which gathers all the different departments involved.

3. Inherited regulations. Expansive vision of urban development_ Technical Building Code CTE: 7 points (Group 3 integration EE-UR, point 2). Both technics and regulations of urban and building development comes from an expansive period of new construction, which do not cover neither the constructed city nor the rehabilitation of buildings

4. Lack of comprehensive diagnosis. It needs to be more social since the technical diagnosis is already given. Participation and neighbourhood offices in coordination with administration: 6 points (Management, point 1). There is not an inventory in which the social situation of the district has been diagnosed, while the technical diagnosis is already defined. To achieve this, it is necessary to start with participatory processes in a coordinated way

5. From the point of view of the individual: fewer solvencies where most is needed. Greater difficulty for agreements where large number of owners. Lack of visibility /priority of the EE. Discrepancy of individual situations with the risk of blocking the operation:5 points (Financing, point 2). Districts/buildings needed of EE energy urban regeneration/rehabilitation have greater difficulties financing of a project; the Administration should prioritize funding these types of actions. The benefits of EE actions must be relate to aspects others than saving, such as thermal and acoustic comfort, improvements in health, economic increase of housing... etc. Performances with large number of residents and disparity in financial situations makes it difficult to reach agreements

6. From the point of view of financial institutions: lack solidarity, responsibility, or lack of common guarantees. Incompatible deadlines with time of investment’s return. Lack of specific financial products

Workshop in Seville

2nd workshop for Stage 1 of the collaborative analysis took place in Seville on 4th February. It was kindly hosted by the Andalusian Energy Agency. 12 participants from regional and local public administration attended the workshop.

The workshop was divided in two parts as the one in Vitoria (1st part: legislation, management and financing; 2nd part: horizontal coordination and multilevel coordination) but in a single analysis group.

After a short time of individual thinking about identified barriers, the discussion among all participants took place. As a closure of the workshop a prioritizing of the barrier had taken place.

As a result of this session in Seville participants prioritized the following barriers: